Fighting For

Department of Biological Sciences | September 22, 2015

At the Environmental Change Initiative, Professor Jennifer Tank is conducting research to help farmers across the country make positive changes to solve this widespread challenge. As the Galla Professor of Biological Sciences, she is studying the benefits of farming techniques designed to keep nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus on fields, where farmers need them.

Her research combines the wide-scale planting of cover crops in winter with innovative drainage strategies that can reduce fertilizer runoff to streams and rivers. By working closely with farmers using these two techniques, Tank’s findings have shown that protecting freshwater does not need to come at a cost to agricultural production.